We have had a good week, with a two-day and very successful athletic sports featuring. The star athletes shone, but nearly everyone participated and the easy manner in which staff and students interacted made it a most successful event.

Two Year 9 parent evenings gave them an opportunity to meet face-to-face with the boys’ form teachers and House Tutors. They seemed to be much appreciated by the parents, who appear to be in general agreement that their Year 9 sons are integrating into the school very well. At assembly the Head Boy, Harry Staples, set the tone for the year, and I share this very good message for your digestion… 

1967…the first ever Super Bowl game was played between Green Bay Packers and the Kansas City Chiefs, also the year that the king of boxing, Muhammad Ali was stripped of the Boxing World Championship for refusing to be conscripted into the US Army AND for little old New Zealand it was the year we adopted the decimal currency with the New Zealand Dollar replacing the Pound. It was also the year that three young and very enthusiastic St Bede’s Old Boys were ordained as priests. For these priests this year marks their 50th anniversary and we are very privileged that they have chosen to be with us next Friday, 24 February to share in celebrating our legendary St Bede’s school opening Mass…that’s right you heard me correct, they have been serving our Catholic community for 50 long years. 

Now perhaps we can’t even comprehend 50 years ahead and even one year seems a long time at our age. But image for a moment if we could stockpile all of our day-to-day, week-to-week, year-to-year achievements…what would the stockpile look like after 50 years? For some of us the stockpile would look like Mt Cook, for others even Mount Everest? Which leads me to challenge you…what stockpile of achievements do you want to strive for? Imagine what we can achieve this year. Every single one of you has the change to leave your mark, and leave a legacy. When St Bede passed away one a couple of hours after he translated the bible, his legacy, the Bedean legacy didn’t just stop there. It continues with you. Whether it be on the sports fields, the stage, the chapel, or next week’s Mass the legacy of St Bede’s continues. Let’s make 2017 a year of legacies. Every one of you is great but ultimately it’s up to all of us to make a difference. Let’s build our stockpile together in 2017 and make it a year that no one will forget. Cheers lads. 

Next week we have our first College Mass and warmly welcome anyone of our Bedean community to join us in the College Gymnasium on Friday, 24 February at 11am.

Until next week

Justin Boyle